VW Passat arrives

autobahner · 25th January 2011, 23:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimianks

@kalpeshc : Auto hold is a feature seen in cars upwards from E-Class/A6/5 Series. If you notice the handbrake is missing. It basically does the work of Holding the car on inclines. Auto hold comes into use when the car is being driven. When the driver brakes and the car stops, he can release the brake and the Auto Hold ensures that the car doesn't slide back ( A useful feature on the inclines ).Traffic on bridges becomes a breeze. The 'P' Button seen near the key slot is the EPB - Electronic Parking Brake which does the job of the Handbrake when the car is Parked ( in Parking mode ). Auto Hold feature can be permanently kept on or off. If on, the EPB switches to Auto Hold the moment you Fasten the Seat Belt and vice-versa. This feature is the first of its kind in this segment. Even the SUPERB doesn't have this feature. This feature is there even in the TSi Model.

Hi kimianks,

I am sorry for such a late response to your post. My belated congrats to you on your fabulous purchase. I have an Audi 2.0 TFSI and can see so many bits and pieces on it in common with your Passat namely the sun roof controls and auto hold as well as electronic parking brake. So a humble correction to your post with regards to auto hold it is available on Audis in India from A4 upwards and not A6. Hope you have many fantastic miles on this german beaut.

Zed · 13th July 2012, 16:23

Yesterday, I bid adieu to my 2009 Passat Stationwagon which has been my primary mode of transport since Dec 2010. The car was on a company lease and had the 2 ltr (140 hp) diesel and a DSG auto trasmission. The car had been used by a colleague for about 50k kms when it was alotted for my use. I clocked an additional 65K kms distributed over Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands since.

I wasnt enmoured by the cars design at first being accustomed to hatchbacks and sedans. But I cannot describe how handy the magnanimous loading space (with the rear seats down) was during the time we shifted apartments and the few times when we've had visitors with so much luggage that we were left wondering if they were visiting or moving in.

If I have to sum up my ownership experience - I would label this car as an underrated over-achiever.

I could almost fit my house in it with nooks and crannies for the small bits, was comfortable for long distance travel, could cruise at frightening speeds on the A'Bhans all day long, returned respectable fuel averages, did not suffer a single breakdown (some minor niggles), & in due course also registered in my head as a pretty decent looking car. All this for an on-road price of ~ Rs 22 lakhs (considering current exchange rate of around Rs 68 to the Euro).

The only minor hitches
1. On a few occasions, mostly in winter, the handbrake release refused to work while starting up. It would start working immediately when I restarted the engine. I recall that just one time I had to fire and kill the engine 8-10 times to get it going.

I reported this during my last service (about 3 months ago) and have not experienced the problem since.

2. On two occasions the condenser fan kept running for an inordinately long period of time. I had to crank the engine and switch off (just once) to stop the fan on on both occasions.

And that was about it.

The technical bits that really helped me were the electronic stability program and ABS (a real life saver in winter) and the cornering lights (part of the adaptive lighting package) for city driving. And how could I forget the seat warmers - did they feel good or what on freezing winter days. I have to thank the bright sparks at VW from the heart of my bottom for that one.

In the 18 odd months that Ive used the car the 'time to service' popped up twice and I had the car serviced on both occasions. Cost about € 400-500 per service that included material & labour at a VW service centre. I had to change a set of summer tyres (~ € 450). Topped up the engine oil on one occasion (~ €20) and filled up the windshield antifreeze fluid, roughly on a quarterly basis.

When I scrubbed and vacuumed it last week it certainly did not look or feel like a car with 115K on the odo. And that is a testament to the build quality and engineering that goes into these babies.

And that about sums up my ownership experience with the Passat.

13th July 2012, 16:23	#32
Zed BHPian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Germany Posts: 516 Thanked: 487 Times	Re: VW Passat arrives Yesterday, I bid adieu to my 2009 Passat Stationwagon which has been my primary mode of transport since Dec 2010. The car was on a company lease and had the 2 ltr (140 hp) diesel and a DSG auto trasmission. The car had been used by a colleague for about 50k kms when it was alotted for my use. I clocked an additional 65K kms distributed over Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands since. I wasnt enmoured by the cars design at first being accustomed to hatchbacks and sedans. But I cannot describe how handy the magnanimous loading space (with the rear seats down) was during the time we shifted apartments and the few times when we've had visitors with so much luggage that we were left wondering if they were visiting or moving in. If I have to sum up my ownership experience - I would label this car as an underrated over-achiever. I could almost fit my house in it with nooks and crannies for the small bits, was comfortable for long distance travel, could cruise at frightening speeds on the A'Bhans all day long, returned respectable fuel averages, did not suffer a single breakdown (some minor niggles), & in due course also registered in my head as a pretty decent looking car. All this for an on-road price of ~ Rs 22 lakhs (considering current exchange rate of around Rs 68 to the Euro). The only minor hitches 1. On a few occasions, mostly in winter, the handbrake release refused to work while starting up. It would start working immediately when I restarted the engine. I recall that just one time I had to fire and kill the engine 8-10 times to get it going. I reported this during my last service (about 3 months ago) and have not experienced the problem since. 2. On two occasions the condenser fan kept running for an inordinately long period of time. I had to crank the engine and switch off (just once) to stop the fan on on both occasions. And that was about it. The technical bits that really helped me were the electronic stability program and ABS (a real life saver in winter) and the cornering lights (part of the adaptive lighting package) for city driving. And how could I forget the seat warmers - did they feel good or what on freezing winter days. I have to thank the bright sparks at VW from the heart of my bottom for that one. In the 18 odd months that Ive used the car the 'time to service' popped up twice and I had the car serviced on both occasions. Cost about € 400-500 per service that included material & labour at a VW service centre. I had to change a set of summer tyres (~ € 450). Topped up the engine oil on one occasion (~ €20) and filled up the windshield antifreeze fluid, roughly on a quarterly basis. When I scrubbed and vacuumed it last week it certainly did not look or feel like a car with 115K on the odo. And that is a testament to the build quality and engineering that goes into these babies. And that about sums up my ownership experience with the Passat. Last edited by Zed : 13th July 2012 at 16:28.
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